Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Tokyo Gov. Yuriko Koike are set to hold talks Tuesday, with the budget for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics likely on the agenda.
The talks, announced by the Prime Minister's Office, are likely to focus on how the national and metropolitan governments can share the financial burden for the games.
A separate meeting on the issue that includes Tokyo 2020 organizing committee chief Yoshiro Mori, Koike and Olympics minister Tamayo Marukawa will take place later this month, the committee's CEO, Toshiro Muto, said Friday.
The organizing committee last month presented a first draft of the total games cost — set between ¥1.6 trillion to ¥1.8 trillion ($13.8 billion to $15.5 billion). The figure was announced at a four-party cost review panel involving the International Olympic Committee, the organizers and the national and metropolitan governments.
At issue is how to divide costs for temporary facilities, all of which were meant to be shouldered by the organizers at the time of the bidding process.
Of the ¥28 billion required, the organizers are proposing that the national and metropolitan governments, as well as municipalities where events will be held, take on ¥20 billion of the costs. But the idea is likely to be met with objections from the municipalities, especially those outside of Tokyo.
"We need to kick off with a summit talk in order to reach an agreement as early as possible," said Muto, adding that it would be best if the issue could be settled before the end of the current fiscal year in March.